Golden ◂ NCT Jaemin

11 ◂ Hands

◂ 11 ▸

Doyoung opened the door to immediate disappointment.

Hands on his hips, he sighed judgingly. 

"Hey hyung," Sungchan greeted timidly yet Doyoung didn't respond. He glared at the boy first, then looked at Jie who was clinging onto Sungchan. She carried her weight on one leg only, keeping the injured one hovering closely above the ground. 

She smiled at him. "Don't be angry." 

"I am not angry," he said quickly. "I am dumbfounded by your stupidity." 

Jie and Sungchan looked at each other briefly. 

"Is that better or worse?" the boy asked in a whisper. 

Jie narrowed her eyes, inspecting Doyoung carefully before leaning closer to Sungchan and saying, 
"I think both are bad."

"Oh," he exhaled, expression tight.

Eventually, after having ignored all that they just said, Doyoung stepped to the side and pulled the door open wider.  

The two quickly stepped inside, from the tile-covered and cool-toned hallway outside, into the warm corridor with a hardwood floor. The difference in atmosphere between here and the other dorms was fascinating. Like the houses mirrored the people that lived in them perfectly. 

So even though the 127 boys were messy, they still had Johnny, Taeyong, Doyoung to look after them, making the rooms tidy and clean. And above all: home-like. 

Whenever Jie got here, it felt like home.  

Today, however, it was unusually loud.

"I forgot to mention it but the Dreamies came over," Doyoung noted as they walked towards the living room. "I'm sure you don't mind." 

Of course they didn't. Especially Sungchan seemed excited to hear about it. The girl looked at him with a smile. 

"Someone's happy to see Haechan, huh?" she mocked the younger one who smiled sheepishly. They were good friends but work kept piling up, making it hard for them to meet. 

Just a moment later, they reached the living room. The chatter and music from inside fell out onto the hallway through the large, open entrance. Inside, the air was stale. The smell of food lingered in every corner. 

Something smelled burnt too. 

However, it still felt like home. 

Standing in the entrance, letting her eyes run over the scene before her, Jie was happy to be able to attach names to all the faces inside. A little while ago, she surely wouldn't have been able to. 

And a little while ago, she also wouldn't have received that glare from Jaemin, who noticed the three of them quickly. He eyed the girl warily, looked her up and down and then ended up disinterested by her injury. 

Jie ignored him when he ignored her and, soon enough, the others spotted them. 

Johnny smiled happily, waved briefly at the younger ones. He was about to say something when--

"FIRE!" Jisung screamed in panic from within the kitchen. 

Yuta sighed, put his drink down and said a quick, "Be right back." Unable to properly see what was going on in the kitchen, Jie only heard a disappointed, "Why did you leave the kitchen towel on the stove top?" 

Meanwhile, Haechan let out a weird, high-pitched sound as he lost against Jeno in whatever game they were playing. Sungchan's eyes fell onto the older ones and Doyoung was quick to put his arm around Jie so that the boy could leave to play with his friends.